1 Chronicles 7:21-22

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Chronicles 7:20-40

We have here an account, I. Of the tribe of Ephraim. Great things we read of that tribe when it came to maturity. Here we have an account of the disasters of its infancy, while it was in Egypt as it should seem; for Ephraim himself was alive when those things were done, which yet is hard to imagine if it were, as is here computed, seven generations off. Therefore I am apt to think that either it was another Ephraim or that those who were slain were the immediate sons of that Ephraim that was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Chronicles 7:21

And Zabad his son ,.... Not the son of Tahath the second last mentioned, but the son of Ephraim, a second son of his: and Shuthelah ; his son, the son of Zabad, called after his uncle's name, 1 Chronicles 7:20 . and Ezer, and Elead ; two other sons of Zabad: whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew : that is, Zabad and his three sons; these the men of Gath slew, who were Philistines that dwelt there, and were originally of Egypt, and were born in that land, but had... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Chronicles 7:22

And Ephraim their father mourned many days ,.... For the loss of his son and grandchildren for the above fact was done while the Israelites were in Egypt, and Ephraim the patriarch yet alive; nor is there any need to suppose another Ephraim, different from him: and his brethren came to comfort him ; some of the heads of the other tribes of Israel, particularly Manasseh, with some of his family. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Chronicles 7:21

Whom the men of Gath - slew - We know nothing of this circumstance but what is related here. The Targum paraphrases the whole thus: "These were the leaders of the house of Ephraim; and they computed their period [or boundary, כיצא kitsa ] from the time in which the Word of the Lord of the universe spake with Abraham between the divisions, [i.e., the separated parts of the covenant sacrifice; see Genesis 15:9-21 ;], but they erred, for they should have counted from the time in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Chronicles 7:20-27

The chief difficulty of this passage lies in reconciling the points of chronology which it forces to the surface. 1 Chronicles 7:20 , 1 Chronicles 7:21 , purport to contain the line of descent from Ephraim through his son Shu-thelah to the seventh generation, viz. to another Shuthelah. The remaining two names, Ezer and Elead, may perhaps be two brothers of the first Shuthelah, i.e. own sons of Ephraim. If it be so, these two must not be supposed to correspond with Becher and Tahan,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Chronicles 7:21

Because they —i.e , the men of Ephraim— came down to take away their cattle . This certainly may be translated, when they ( i.e. the men of Gath) came down ( i.e. into Goshen) to plunder their cattle ( i.e. the cattle of Ephraim). read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Chronicles 7:21

1 Chronicles 7:21. Whom the men of Gath slew This history is not recorded elsewhere in Scripture, but it is in the ancient Hebrew writers. The Philistines (one of whose cities Gath was) and the Egyptians were next neighbours; and in those ancient times it was usual for such to make inroads one into another’s country, and to carry thence what prey they could take. And as the Philistines had probably made such inroads formerly into Egypt, and particularly into the land of Goshen, which was... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Chronicles 7:1-40

Genealogies of the remaining tribes (7:1-8:40)Although the lists here are incomplete and in places difficult to follow, it seems that the tribes dealt with are Issachar (7:1-5), parts of Benjamin and Dan (6-12), Naphtali (13), the portion of Manasseh not listed earlier (14-19; cf. 5:23-24), Ephraim (20-29) and Asher (30-40).Benjamin is given in greater detail, possibly because it included Jerusalem in its tribal territory. Also this was the only tribe that joined Judah in the southern kingdom,... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Chronicles 7:21

they: i.e. the sons of Ephraim. A pre-Exodus raid, presuming perhaps on their descent from Joseph (Genesis 46:20 ), the governor of Egypt. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 Chronicles 7:21

21. whom the men of Gath . . . slew, c.—This interesting little episode gives us a glimpse of the state of Hebrew society in Egypt for the occurrence narrated seems to have taken place before the Israelites left that country. The patriarch Ephraim was then alive, though he must have arrived at a very advanced age; and the Hebrew people, at all events those of them who were his descendants, still retained their pastoral character. It was in perfect consistency with the ideas and habits of... read more

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